Health Coaching News and Research

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Prevention as a new approach to primary care?

A budding model for primary care that encourages the family doctor to act as a health coach who focuses as much on preventing illness as on treating it has shown promising results and saved insurers millions of dollars.

21 Jul 2011

First Edition: May 24, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about the Senate's upcoming vote on the House-passed GOP budget, the run-up to today's special congressional election in New York and details on the Medicare positions being taken by Republican presidential hopefuls.

24 May 2011

Longer looks: Tough health care questions for GOP presidential contenders; Robotics help spike use of prostate treatment

For my money, the most interesting thing about Mitt Romney's health-care speech last week wasn't his struggle to defend Romneycare and distance it from Obamacare, but the largely hostile reception of the speech from the right.

20 May 2011

Regence introduces flexible health plans for small employers in Oregon

Small employers are traditionally faced with a difficult choice when providing health coverage for their employees: they can either choose benefits that are affordable, or spend more and offer their employees a choice.

6 May 2011

WellPoint offers health coaches for employees to resolve clinical issues

Most of us agree, there have been times we've needed a coach. Our closets are a mess and our bank account(s), even more so. Marital bliss is far from effortless, and our own teenage angst was a walk in the park compared to what we're currently living with.

28 Apr 2011

UnitedHealth Group's consolidated first quarter 2011 revenues increased 10% year-over-year

UnitedHealth Group today reported first quarter results, highlighted by accelerated revenue growth from both its UnitedHealthcare and Optum businesses.

21 Apr 2011

PDHI adds Risky Drinking and Depression health action plan to its online library

Protocol Driven Healthcare, Inc. has added Risky Drinking and Depression to its online health action plan library, a component of the ConXus Steps product.

2 Apr 2011

AstraZeneca grants $2.5 million to 14 U.S.-based organizations to improve cardiovascular health

The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation today announced grants totaling more than $2.5 million to 14 U.S.-based nonprofit organizations from Maine to California dedicated to improving cardiovascular health in local communities.

8 Mar 2011

Discovery Holdings, Humana to offer Vitality wellness program for health plan members

In a bold step to help its health plan members live healthier lives, Humana Inc. announced today that it will offer the Vitality wellness and loyalty program and the program's wide range of well-being tools and reward-partners through a joint venture with the program's parent, Discovery Holdings Ltd.

22 Feb 2011

IOHO, sanofi-aventis partner for new training program to help patients with chronic disease

The Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes and sanofi-aventis Canada are pleased to announce their partnership in a training program in Canada designed for healthcare practitioners who want to help patients better manage their chronic conditions.

18 Feb 2011

Company reaches $28 million settlement for Medicare program

The Tennesseean: "Healthways Inc. will return $28 million to Medicare's overseer under a settlement related to the company's participation in a pilot program to determine the effectiveness of its nurse-based health coaching for chronically ill seniors." The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had paid the company $72 million for the pilot program, which ended two years ago, under the condition that it meet "specific targets for cost savings, health outcomes and patient satisfaction."

7 Dec 2010

Online program enhances patient's ability to self manage chronic health conditions: Study

A study conducted by HealthMedia, Inc. and Highmark Inc., published in the November/December edition of the American Journal of Health Promotion, proves that an online program offers a return on investment and enhances a patient's ability to self manage chronic health conditions.

2 Dec 2010

Largest remote health monitoring project in the world launched in China

Canada-based IDEAL LIFE and China's Shandong NovaTech Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer and medical products distribution network in China, announced the launch of the largest remote health monitoring project in the world, bringing wireless, remote health monitoring to the People's Republic of China.

30 Nov 2010

Tips to maintain healthy weight through Halloween and holidays

For many people, the scariest part of every Halloween is not a visit from ghouls and ghosts, but the chocolaty temptation of crunchy candy bars and sweet treats that surround us in stores, at work - even in our own homes. And sometimes it can be just too hard to resist. In fact, the average American will spend more than $20 on candy treats this Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation's 2010 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.

27 Oct 2010

Preventive health programs reduce employee health risks

With employers and individuals continuing to struggle with rising health care costs, a new study shows there is one strategy that is proven to slow the pace of this ever increasing burden: preventive health. Published today in Population Health Management, "The Impact of The Prevention Plan on Employee Health Risk Reduction" reveals that prevention programs based on the clinical practice of preventive medicine are able to achieve measurable health risk reduction in just one year.

27 Oct 2010

Onlife relocates to larger 55,000-square-foot space in Brentwood

Personal health coaching company Onlife Health, Inc. has moved into new offices specifically designed to foster positive living and workplace wellness among the company's employees. Onlife consolidated its three separate offices into one larger 55,000-square-foot space when it relocated to the Horizon Center in Brentwood, Tenn., this month, giving the company more capacity for continued growth.

26 Oct 2010

CIGNA plans help reduce annual health care costs without compromising care

When Americans engage in health-smart habits such as participating in health coaching and disease management programs, substituting generic medications for brand name drugs and avoiding unnecessary trips to the emergency room, their total medical costs went down 15 percent -- an average $358 per person in the first year -- according to a new multi-year study comparing the health care claims experience of 897,000 CIGNA customers in consumer driven health (CDH) plans, PPOs and HMOs.

20 Oct 2010

Technologic innovation — Telephones! — could save health system money

Health-coaching more patients over the phone could help save the system money according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine and noticed by the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog. "Typically this kind of care management, as it's called, is offered to people who have trouble managing their chronic conditions or who are facing a big treatment decision — such as surgery or medical management for lower back pain.

24 Sep 2010

HealthFitness wellness program helps Eastman employees reduce health risks, lower medical claims

The HealthFitness wellness program offered to Eastman Chemical Company employees helped reduce Eastman employees' health risks and lower their medical claims, resulting in a 3.2 return on investment for every dollar spent on core wellness program components.

10 Sep 2010

TriZetto announces general availability of health benefits administration and incentive management software

The TriZetto Group, Inc. today announced the general availability of its Value-Based Benefits Solution, health benefits administration and incentive management software that enables healthcare payers to customize benefits and provide incentives for individual members based on their health status, chronic conditions, and health and wellness activity.

12 Aug 2010